Five Lines is a collection of writings about music in Aotearoa New Zealand by Elizabeth Kerr. It features short articles, artist profiles and reviews of concerts, operas and albums. You can subscribe - it’s free - at the bottom of any story.
David Long: Ash and Bone
David Long’s new album, Ash and Bone, offers multi-coloured, many-layered music with his unfailing sense of pace and momentum.
Gareth Farr premiere: Where Will They Bury My Bones
A moving new work, Where will they bury my bones? by Gareth Farr and Paul Horan, had its premiere as a film with ex-patriate New Zealanders in the chamber ensemble.
Gemma New: the NZSO’s new Principal Conductor
Gemma New’s appointment as Principal Conductor of the NZSO has been greeted with delight in her home country. For this rising international star of the podium, it is a dream come true.
Voice of the Whale
Voice of the Whale is an online concert in the 2022 Aotearoa NZ Festival of the Arts. It includes a performance of Vox Balaenae, a tribute to composer George Crumb who died in February 2022.
21 x 21: not such a “crazy idea”
Soprano Jenny Wollerman commissioned 21 songs from female composers of New Zealand, setting texts by female poets, and will premiere the set with pianist Jian Liu in a recital in the Aotearoa NZ Festival of the Arts.
Jonathan Cohen: playing music from a time of turmoil
Jonathan Cohen, the Auckland Philharmonia’s principal clarinettist, will play Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s Clarinet Concert with the APO this week.
Portrait with Piano: Jenny McLeod
An 80th birthday tribute album shines a light on 50 years of piano composition by New Zealand composer Jenny McLeod
RNZ Concert – what does 2022 hold for the network?
It’s two years since RNZ’s brutal “Music Strategy” threatened the existence of RNZ Concert. What does 2022 hold for New Zealand’s only classical music network?
My top five 2021 classical releases
My top five classical releases for 2021.
Music of Aotearoa
A 1999 work for taonga pūoro and flute has inspired a new generation of composers.
Making waves
“A love song to the oceans” is how choral conductor Karen Grylls describes Taonga Moana. Now the concert is coming to the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts in Wellington..
NZ String Quartet: subtlety and flair
The New Zealand String Quartet’s National Tour 2021 took two well-crafted programmes around the country, sharing the variety of contrasting characters the ensemble can play.
Jenny McLeod at 80: “to me I’m always me…”
Composer Jenny McLeod died on 28 November 2022. In a birthday tribute in 2021 I wrote about the life and work of this brilliant and mercurial composer.
Tararua: Bird Like Men
Bird Like Men, the debut album from new ensemble Tararua, draws on personal inspiration to tell our stories.
At the World’s Edge Festival: intimacy, awe and connection
This week violinists Justine Cormack and Ben Baker will realise their dream of a new chamber music festival in Central Otago.
Salina Fisher: personal music for a worldwide audience
Composer Salina Fisher is composer-in-residence at the inaugural At the World’s Edge Festival in Central Otago. Five of her compositions feature in Festival programmes.
Julien van Mellaerts - home and away
Baritone Julien van Mellaerts includes a song cycle commissioned from Gareth Farr and Bill Manhire in his new album of art songs called Songs of Travel and Home.
John Psathas: Voices at the End
John Psathas wrote Voices at the End for six grand pianos to communicate a heartfelt message about our world. For the premiere he had a “dream team”.
Violinist Wilma Smith - chamber music with friends
Violinist Wilma Smith is in New Zealand for a chamber music tour and the annual Martinborough Music Festival. The Delta outbreak has her plans in flux but she’s still smiling.
Tony Yan Tong Chen - Homecoming
Young New Zealand pianist Tony Yan Tong Chen displays his range and virtuosity on a new album of music by Liszt, Mozart, Tan Dun, John Psathas and Prokofiev.